Can’t Sleep? Here’s What Might Help, According to Consumer Reports' Latest Sleep Survey
Sleep seems so simple—heck, you can do it with your eyes closed! But clearly, it takes effort. In October 2022, a nationally representative Consumer Reports survey (PDF) asked more than 2,000 U.S. adults about how they slept in the previous 12 months and what they bought or did to improve their slumbers. Nine out of 10 Americans said they experienced at least one sleep challenge within that time frame. Eight out of 10 said they attempted a solution—for example, switching up their bedtime routine or buying bed linens. But not all their efforts paid off equally well. Sleep is a deeply personal matter, and the things that work for one person’s insomnia may not help someone else. Still, we noticed trends. Here are a few nuggets that surprised us—and a few recommendations to up your chances of finding that elusive good night’s rest. More than 60 percent of people bought something for their bedroom to help them sleep. From small purchases (masks, ear plugs) to larger investments (air conditioners, mattresses), our survey found that many people didn’t just try to change their habits to sleep better—they plunked down some money. Bedding topped the shopping list, with more than a quarter of people purchasing pillows, sheets, blankets, or comforters within the past 12 months. That’s about the same percentage of people who said they tried to improve their sleep by sticking to a sleep schedule. As it turns out, both can be pretty helpful for improving sleep for many people (more on that later). If you’re in the market for a pillow, our comprehensive pillow ratings might help narrow your options; the top-rated Coop Home Goods Original pillow, below, is adjustable according to your size, sleep position, and preferences. Air conditioners and fans topped the list of “very effective” ways to improve sleep. The best temperature for sleep is cooler than most people might think—around 65 degrees, though you can tweak that. ("I mostly recommend to keep it below 72 degrees Fahrenheit, whatever is comfortable to you," says Roy Raymann, PhD, a San Diego–based sleep consultant). An AC, of course, can efficiently take the mercury down to that springtime-like temperature, and a fan can whip up cool air, too, as long as the ambient temperature stays below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, a whopping 95 percent of those surveyed felt that the purchase of a cooling device was worthwhile (47 percent described it as “very effective”; 48 percent said it was “somewhat” so at helping them sleep). That’s slightly more positive feedback than that of people who popped prescription sleep medications (90 percent said these were at least “somewhat effective”). Thinking about an AC for your bedroom? This LG won’t make a racket. (For more ideas, see our complete ratings of more than 60 in-window models.) Black-out shades or curtains may be worth the splurge. Or try a sleep mask. Light signals the brain that it’s time to wake up; so, if you’re tired but can’t fall asleep, products that block ambient light can help, as many Americans who purchased them for better sleep discovered. Black-out shades or curtains emerged near the top in our survey for sleep purchases that are likeliest to be most effective, with an impressive 88 percent rated these window coverings as “very” or “somewhat effective”—slightly behind ACs and fans, and also alongside white-noise machines. Don’t want the hassle of installing new hardware? Try a sleep mask—over three-quarters of people who bought one found it to be at least “somewhat effective" (40 percent even described it as “very.”) Our top-scoring pick based on staff evaluations, the Mzoo, costs well under $20. The trendiest tools purchased were often the most disappointing. Using a sleep tracking app proved to be a big fail among almost half of the people who tried it (48 percent said that it was “not too effective” or “not effective at all” for improving sleep). Weighted blankets performed only a little better among those who bought them in an attempt to improve sleep—38 percent described them as “not too” or “not at all effective." The truth is, items labeled or marketed as sleep tools may not affect your sleep directly, or at all. A sleep tracker can be helpful for gauging trends to help change behavior—for instance, you notice that you don’t get a lot of deep sleep on the days you work late—but there’s nothing magically sleep-enhancing about them per se. Likewise, research suggests weighted blankets may be helpful for anxiety, so if your insomnia stems from something else, the blanket acts as just another covering. But if worry is what keeps you up at night, then it may be worth a try. A new mattress can be helpful for better sleep, but a new mattress pad? Less so. Truth: You can’t expect miracles with a mattress pad or topper. If your mattress is beat up and lumpy, or it was shoddy to begin with, these layers of fluff or foam won’t necessarily comfy up your bed—they can only make a firm but already-upstanding mattress feel plusher, says Chris Regan, CR’s senior project leader for mattresses. We don’t know why, exactly, certain respondents bought a mattress pad (beyond that they hoped it would improve their sleep), but the item turned out to be one of the more disappointing household purchases in our survey (28 percent said it was “not too” or “not at all” helpful at improving sleep), after weighted blankets. Those who bought mattresses—which was among the top four items people bought in an attempt to improve sleep—were quite a bit happier. More than a third said it was “very effective” and about half said it was “somewhat effective” for a combined total of 84 percent. If you’re due for a new mattress, consider trying our mattress selector tool to see what might be right for your budget and needs. You can also peruse our comprehensive mattress ratings, with more than 200 models, including our longtime favorite for firm-mattress lovers, the Avocado Green. Exercise or yoga was among the most likely behavioral changes to improve sleep. Working out is not necessarily top-of-mind when people are thinking up ways to sleep better, but it can, in fact, be pretty effective. In our survey, almost a third of people (31 percent) who added some kind of physical activity to their routine (including laying down a mat for some yoga) said it was “very effective” for improving sleep—that’s more than those who tried over-the-counter medications (25 percent said it was “very effective” at improving sleep) or dietary sleep supplements (19 percent). Research says that exercise and yoga may help you feel less anxious in general, too, and that can be a plus at bedtime. Recent studies, though small, suggest that exercising even as late as early evening can, in fact, help improve sleep. Other behavioral changes aren’t a bad idea either. While working up a sweat garnered a solid 83 percent of people describing it as at least “somewhat effective,” other modifications in the sleep routine weren’t far behind. Similar percentages of people trying each of the following also found improvements in sleep: watching their diet, like eating lighter meals or avoiding caffeine before bed (83 percent); taking a warm bath or shower before bed (81 percent); sticking to a regular sleep schedule (81 percent); and limiting screen time (80 percent). It can be overwhelming to tackle all of these things at once, so start with going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every morning, says Maren Hyde-Nolan, PhD, a sleep psychologist at Henry Ford Health, in Detroit. Then pick up as many good habits as you can, even if you try only one or two strategies at a time. The beauty of a behavioral tactic is that it’s free—and chances are, as our survey found, it just might work, at least “somewhat.”
Adams seeks to juice housing with Midtown rezoning
Mayor Eric Adams wants to rezone Midtown to help meet his goal of adding half a million homes citywide. In his second State of the City address, the mayor laid out policy priorities in what he called the “Working People’s Agenda,” focused on jobs, safety, housing and care. He announced that in the coming weeks, community engagement will begin on the prospect of rezoning Midtown to allow residential construction in areas that only permit manufacturing and office use. He also said city officials will work on a plan to improve waterfront access and expand mixed-use development on the North Shore of Staten Island, citing calls from City Council member Kamillah Hanks to create a master plan for the district. The potential Midtown rezoning follows a recommendation by a city-led task force, which noted that much of the area between West 23rd and West 41st streets is zoned for manufacturing. That prevents ground-up residential development and conversions of vacant office space for residential use. The task force also recommended that the city consider creating a tax incentive for office-to-residential conversions that include affordable housing. The administration projects that office conversions could lead to 20,000 new apartments. But that would require changes to the Multiple Dwelling Law, including lifting the cap on the city’s residential floor area ratio. Politico reported that the rezoning proposal already has the backing of local Council members Erik Bottcher and Keith Powers, whose positions would determine the outcome of the city’s land use review. “They are not saying not in my backyard, they are saying build in my backyard,” Adams said of Bottcher and Powers. “Hats off to them.” Eugene Travers, land use attorney with Kramer Levin, said he was encouraged by the mayor’s shoutout to the council members. “It seems we’re slowly moving past that anti-development rhetoric of years past,” he said. The rezoning would include the Garment District, which was rezoned in 2018 to encourage more office space. But the new plan has the support of the area’s business improvement district. “Allowing for residential in this district would significantly expand the city’s housing supply, fill inevitable vacancies within office buildings, and transform the Garment District into a truly mixed-use, 24/7 neighborhood, with a full-time population filling the streets and supporting small businesses,” said Barbara Blair, president of the Garment District Alliance, in a statement. According to the city, only 13 percent of newly permitted housing units in 2021 were in Manhattan. That put it behind every borough except Staten Island. Adams has said he wants to add 500,000 units of housing over the next decade. The Council, which has controlled land use since a landmark 1989 court case, is a necessary partner in that effort. “From the moment I took office, I’ve said that we want to work in partnership with Council members and communities to build more housing together,” the mayor said in his speech at Queens Theatre. “And more and more of our Council colleagues are standing up to be part of the solution.” Adams also said the city is investing more than $22 million in tenant protection programs, including more staffers to “increase investigations and enforcement against bad landlords.” In his speech, the mayor indicated that this would include hiring actors to pose as Section 8 tenants to crack down on landlords discriminating against voucher holders. He also said all buildings will be required to replace sidewalk sheds with “newly designed structures that preserve the vibrancy of our streets.” The mayor announced a $20 million investment to create a “first-in-the-nation” biotech innovation hub at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, as first reported by The City. Adams also plans to launch a pilot program to provide free broadband access to about 650 Section 8 households in the Bronx and northern Manhattan, City & State reported. In September, the mayor announced that the city had reached its target of awarding $25 billion in contracts to M/WBE firms three years ahead of schedule. Adams on Thursday pledged to award $60 billion by 2030. Adams announced a number of initiatives aimed at job training and creating opportunities for New Yorkers. He did not lay out strategies for ramping up hiring in city agencies with staffing shortages, notably the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and City Planning. The large number of vacancies put his housing plan at risk from the moment it was announced.
Best Headphones of 2023
There’s no one set of headphones that’s right for everyone. A wired over-ear set may be best suited for home listening, while a true wireless model—with no cord connecting the earbuds—is convenient if you want to slide them into a pocket when you head out for a walk, or to the gym. Of course, sound quality matters a lot, too—and so does your budget. The following list of the best headphones of 2022 includes both CR’s top-rated picks for performance (which tend to be pricier) as well as our top recommendations for less expensive headphones that also sound great. Consumer Reports is a nonprofit member organization that works toward a fair, safe marketplace. We buy all the headphones we rate at retail, and evaluate them year-round in our labs in Yonkers, N.Y., for sound quality, noise cancelation, features, and fit. Members can use CR’s complete headphone ratings, which include nearly 200 models. Here are CR’s picks for the best headphones of 2022. Best Apple AirPods The best: Apple’s AirPods were a sales success from the day they were launched, but our testers reported that the performance lagged behind the buzz. The good news is that they’ve gotten considerably better over the years, and, all things considered, the latest-gen Apple AirPods Pro are the best AirPods yet. The new Pros remain noise-canceling true wireless earbuds, with new features including a splash-resistant with a "find" feature like the one on the earbuds themselves.Our testers report that the sound quality is improved, although there are other true wireless earbuds from other manufacturers that perform even better. The noise canceling is also better than in the previous generation. You can use a transparency mode that pipes in outside sound to allow you to hear what’s going on around you. The latest Pros add an adaptive transparency mode that’s supposed to attenuate loud noises, but it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped when I tried it. And, of course, the Pros offer easy interaction with all Apple devices.The bargain option: No, the Beats Studio Pros don’t wear the Apple name, but Apple owns Beats by Dre and you can buy these true wireless earbuds at the Apple store. Like AirPods, they’re sleek and stylish, and work seamlessly with an iPhone or another Apple device. More to the point, they offer satisfying sound and impressive noise canceling performance for a price that’s $100 less than the list on the AirPods Pro, and we’ve seen them on sale for under $100. Best True Wireless Earbuds The best: The Audio-Technica ATH-SQ1TW are top-scoring true wireless earbuds at a very reasonable price. They provide stellar audio quality packed into a pair of sleek and unobtrusive earpieces available in a variety of colors. The A-Ts offer a number of great features. They’re not noise canceling, but the silicone ear tips provide quite a lot of passive isolation. There’s even an ambient sound mode for when you want to keep an ear on your environment. They have easy-to-use touch controls for volume and playback and skipping tracks and feature convenient USB-C charging. The headphones also include an unusual low latency mode, which reduces the slight lag you sometimes get with Bluetooth headphones, for better performance with games or videos. According to Audio-Technica, they have a 6.5-hour battery life, and the charging case stores an extra 13 hours of power. The only potential drawback is the fit; our testers say people with smaller ears might find these headphones don’t always stay in place. The bargain option: The Skullcandy Dime earphones are an absolute steal. The sound quality isn’t outstanding, but it’s above average—and very impressive considering the price. They have an advertised 3.5-hour battery life and a carrying/charging case good for another 8.5 hours. One caveat: Skullcandy gets a dismal rating for owner satisfaction in our latest headphones member survey. That doesn’t necessarily mean every Skullcandy product is a dud, though, and the Dime may be worth a gamble at this price. Best-Sounding Headphones The best: This classic wired headphone is built by Grado, the storied audio company famous for still hand-building its premium cans in Brooklyn. The Grado RS2x is a “reference” model, designed for sound quality that’s so accurate it can be used to evaluate the recordings as well as the performance of other audio equipment. Our tests support that claim, with the RS2x earning a higher score than any other model in our ratings. While Grados cost $550, you get what you pay for; this level of sound quality doesn’t go out of style. For the money, you get both audiophile sound and a unique aesthetic featuring a maple wood housing and Grado’s signature leather headband. The Grados use an open-air design; the back of the ear cups features a mesh screen instead of a sealed case. This design helps to minimize distortion and adds a realistic sense of airiness to the sound. But you can hear outside noise, while those sharing space with you can hear your music, too. Which is why these headphones might not be suited for every environment. The bargain option: Looking for a wired over-ear model at a lower price? The Audio-Technica ATH-M50x headphones are a classic choice for both music producers and fans. They deliver high-quality sound, and, unlike the Grados above, they’re closed-back and have earpads that will isolate you from extraneous sound. The A-Ts retail for about $150. Of course, that’s not cheap, but it’s a deal for sound this good. (If you don’t mind the open-back design, you might want to consider the even-better sounding Grado SR80x, which is a downright steal at $125.) Best Noise-Canceling Earbuds The best: The WF-1000XM4 is the latest in Sony’s line of noise-canceling true wireless earbuds, and our tests show it’s a top-performer. The Sony’s standout feature is its truly superb sound quality; the WF-1000XM4 delivers so much musical detail that you hear your favorite songs in a different way. Its noise-canceling performance is top notch as well. Apple’s latest AirPods Pro may be more popular, but the Sony’s superior sound makes it an even better choice. Sony’s latest model also comes packed with additional features, including variable noise cancelation, which you can adjust to let in more or less sound; an ambient sound mode to actively pipe in audio from your surroundings (useful when you want to hear what’s going on around you, for instance if you’re out for a run); and Speak-to-Chat, which can automatically pause the music when you start talking. According to Sony, the XM4 has a 5.5-hour battery life, and the portable charging case holds 16 hours’ worth of power before it needs to be plugged in again. The Sonys have a unique foam eartip that enhances both sound and isolation. But our testers note that some users, particularly people with larger ears, may feel that this model doesn’t fit securely. (But they can also fit too securely. During my evaluation an eartip got stuck in my ear, necessitating a quick trip to urgent care.) The bargain option: There are lots of great choices if you’re looking for less expensive noise-canceling headphones. One of our top picks is the 1MORE ColorBuds 2, which offer the convenience of true wireless headphones, great sound quality, and superb noise cancelation, all for less than $100. 1MORE advertises a 6-hour battery life backed by a charging case that holds enough power for two full cycles. Best Over-Ear Wireless Headphones The best: The Bose SoundLink Around-Ear Headphones II don’t have noise-canceling tech like Bose’s best-known models, but they sound great and offer a nice selection of features at a competitive price. Effective passive isolation offers some peace and quiet, and you can pair the SoundLinks with two devices at the same time. The controls are easy to use and, according to Bose, the latest SoundLinks have a 15-hour battery life.With a list price of around $230, the Boses aren’t exactly cheap, but they are lightweight and highly portable, their performance tops most every model in this category. The bargain option: The JBL Tune 510BT is a no-brainer. This Bluetooth model delivers pretty good sound quality, it has a 40-hour advertised battery life, and we’ve seen it selling for as little as $30. The 510BT sits on the ears, which some people find more comfortable than being engulfed by the more common over-ear style. As an extra perk, you can use them with a cable if you forget to charge them. Best Wired Earbuds The best: For the best sound quality you can get from a portable model under $100, look no further than the 1More E1001 Triple Driver. You won’t find many competitors that deliver such impressive audio at anywhere near this price. We’ve seen it go as low as $50. These headphones have a sleek design and come with extras, including a removable shirt clip, a carrying case, and nine sets of earpieces of varying shapes and sizes to help you find a good fit. The bargain option: The Panasonic RP-TCM125 is a great choice if you’re looking for inexpensive earbuds that don’t sound cheap. This pair just misses the cutoff for an official Consumer Reports recommendation, in part because of Panasonic’s mediocre rating for predicted reliability, our metric for how likely headphones are to have problems in the first two years of ownership. But that seems like a minor failing for a product that’s priced around $15, especially given this model’s above-average audio quality. We’ve tested headphones that cost ten times as much and sound worse. Best Noise-Canceling Headphones The best: Bose has been the go-to brand for noise-canceling headphones for years, so it’s no surprise that their high-end model is a strong performer. The Bose Noise Cancelling 700 earns top ratings across the board, for sound quality, noise canceling, and predicted reliabilityThey’re also loaded with features. The 700s have an integrated mic, and touch sensitive controls on the earcup for volume, track selection and call functionality. They’ve got 11 distinct noise cancelling levels plus an easy way to toggle through your choice of three favorites. You can also summon your favorite digital assistant–Alexa, Google, or Siri. The 700s are not inexpensive at a list price of $379 but the combination of terrific audio quality and superb isolation make the Boses not so much a purchase as an investment in great sound on the go. The bargain option: The Monoprice BT-300ANC is a fantastic pick. The audio quality is solid, the noise cancelation is great, and they’re moderately priced. How to Choose Headphones With so many types of headphones, how do you know which pair is right for you? On the “Consumer 101” TV show, Consumer Reports expert Elias Arias explains everything you need to know.
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